


Photograph

by SPNxBookworm



Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Humor, Hurt Benji, Hurt Ethan, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Croatia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 23:32:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16028282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPNxBookworm/pseuds/SPNxBookworm
Summary: “Team check in.”“Jasmine, here.”Silence.“Shit,” Will hisses. Croatia flashes before him and he hopes to everything he holds dear that he doesn’t lose his team tonight.





	Photograph

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iamremy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamremy/gifts).



> I don’t have access to a computer and I’m posting this through my phone so sorry for any formatting errors. 
> 
> I’ve been writing this fic for almost 6 months now. It’s insane. It should have been done a lot earlier and was supposed to be a birthday present this March for Naila. 
> 
> Oh well, here it is now. I hope you all like it! 
> 
> Edit: Fuck mobile. Posting from a phone is so fucking hard. I worked 20 minutes to fix the damn formatting. And I can’t fucking tag ghost protocol as a fandom which I know is possible on computer. Fuck this I’ll fix stuff on computer when I have access to one. Whatever you do, don’t post through mobile unless you absolutely have to.

Will subtly shifts his eyes to the right, spotting Ethan just as he lifts his professional looking camera to click a picture of a young woman – dressed in a skin tight velvety purple gown with a slit going midway up her left thigh – with her arms hugging the neck of a bald, bespectacled man (who’s at least above the age of 55 by Will’s analysis).

Will shakes his head, not looking to judge anyone with their choice of partner but still wondering how that pairing happened in the first place.

“Anything, Abu?” Will asks over the comms.

“Negative, Aladdin. You do know though that asking me the same question every time Eth- I mean, Jafar clicks a picture isn’t really gonna help matters, right?” Benji replies, sounding bored.

Will smirks. “We’ve been here 4 hours now. Excuse me for getting a little impatient.”

“You’re not the only one getting impatient, Aladdin. I can’t feel my ass thanks to the long hours I’ve been sitting here,” Benji grumbles.

Will can’t help but let out a chuckle. So far, it’s honestly been the most boring mission they’ve been on and apart from seeing Ethan look dashing in his tux, there’s really no other positives to this assignment.

“Why do I have to be Jafar?” Ethan’s voice penetrates over the comms.

“I could trade you if you want Jasmine,” Jane teases as she passes by Ethan, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Will laughs under his breath at the annoyed look his boyfriend throws towards his friend and then brings his attention back to scanning the crowd. He looks around the room, absently feeling for his gun at its holster. He feels he got lucky in getting to be a part of the security team when they got assigned their covers for the mission. Benji was on tech support as usual in some secluded part of the building while Jane was one of the numerous waiters walking around with trays of drinks and small snacks for the guests.

They were on protection detail, having been given responsibility to protect the chief guest of the party they were all now held up in. The said chief guest, Dave Turner, was one of IMF’s best informants. Though, being arrogant, stuck up and self-centered to the point where even Will (one of the most level minded and patient people) hadn’t been able to stand him, he was an annoyance, his intel had saved lives and even helped Will and the analysts working under him on sensitive cases which would have turned into absolute fuck ups if it hadn’t been for Dave.

They’d gotten information that there could be an assassination attempt on Dave seeing as his Intel transfer to IMF also got him a lot of enemies. The only catch was, they had a very blurred image of the assassinator. Though Benji had done his best to clear it up, there was no way they could make sure of how the person looked. The only thing they were sure of was that it was a female. But Benji being Benji had managed to secure a few facial recognition points to match onto the database at HQ.

Finding out that it didn’t match anyone in their records, Ethan came up with an elaborate plan of linking photographs to Benji’s facial recognition software and hopefully finding a match before it was too late. It was risky, but the only choice they had.

Will scans the crowd, choosing to walk around the edges. He spots a woman sporting a knee-length flowy turquoise dress. Will squints, as she repeatedly keeps bringing her hand to the side her right thigh, as though checking for something.

“Jafar. Your eight o’ clock. Turquoise dress,” Will mutters over the comms.

Ethan nods and walks over to the woman. Will watches as Ethan requests her to pose so he can take a picture. As soon as he clicks the picture, Will asks, “Anything?”

He ignores the chuckle Ethan let’s out and despite himself, grins at the exasperated sound Benji makes.

"Okay, sorry, I'll stop asking," Will says, having mercy on Benji.

Will continues to keep an eye on the numerous guests, always on alert. Usually, Ethan is the one calling the shots, but this time Will was calling the shots. Ethan may have come up with the plan but it was Will who had to approve it. The last time he'd been calling the shots was Croatia.

While Will knows now that the events were staged, it still brings nightmares. It also brings a sense of nervousness and anxiety on this particular mission. He doesn't want to screw this up. The analyst in him knows that though the plan is risky,  if they work like a well-oiled machine, this could work and they all go home happy, albeit tired, but content that the mission was a success. However, the human, non-analytical part of him is constantly worrying about his teammates, _his friends_. People whose lives he will be responsible for, should something happen to them.

And then there's Ethan. The one person who, after Croatia, Will hoped he'd never come face to face with. But as fate would have it, he did. And over time, they grew closer and now, Will can't imagine a life where Ethan doesn’t exist alongside him.

He's pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of muffled grunts on the comms.

"Team, check in," Will orders over the comms while making his way towards the last spot he’s seen Ethan. 

Something tells him he knows exactly who those grunts belong to.

"Abu, here."

"Jasmine, here."

Will waits desperately for Ethan to check in and feels his heart skip a beat when he doesn't. And the grunts seem to have stopped as well.

"Jafar, check in now," Will waits impatiently, almost praying for the all so familiar voice to talk over the line and tell him he's okay. Because goddamn it, Ethan has to be okay.

Silence.

"Fuck," Will mutters under his breath.

"Wi - Aladdin? What's our play?" Jane asks.

Will's heart is beating a mile a minute and he turns away from the guests so as not to create suspicion and takes a deep breath before turning around again. He spots Jane in the midst of the guests, shooting him worried looks.

"Any sign of Jafar?" he asks.

"Negative," say Jane and Benji simultaneously.

Will takes another deep breath. This is not good. Did the assassin get to Ethan? Were they too late? Will shakes himself out of stupor. This was no time to overthink and get anxious about matters he had no solid proof about.

He clears his throat, letting his years of training kick in. "Okay, Plan B. Jasmine, get into gear. Capture photos of anyone that catches your attention. Abu, keep scanning. I'll look for Eth - Jafar."

Will makes his way to the northeast corner of the hall, knowing that was the general direction he saw Ethan last. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Jane now dressed in a black silk gown, shaking hands with one of the male guests as she subtly points her handheld purse at the woman accompanying the guest and lightly presses the diamond-studded clasp.

"No match," Benji mutters.

_Well-oiled machine_ , Will thinks. He trusts Benji and Jane to handle it until he finds Ethan.

Will looks around in frustration, looking for a source or some sort of indication as to where Ethan could have disappeared. He grits his teeth, gulping down the bile that rises up in his throat at the mere thought of Ethan being injured, or worse.

His eye falls on one of the security cameras in the opposite top corner of the room. They'd previously considered using them to faster identify the assassin but the grainy footage had proved to be more of a nuisance which had then resulted in Ethan taking on the cover of a photographer.

"Benji, you still tapped into the security cams?"

"First of all, it's Abu. You're the one who was adamant that we use nothing but code names so seriously, abide by your own rules. Second, of course I'm still tapped into the security cams. What do you take me for?"

Will can't help but smile despite his situation, knowing immediately that Benji is trying his best to calm him and cheer him up. "Okay, _Abu_. Could you somehow find a way to rewind back a few minutes? See if you can spot, Jafar?"

"On it, Boss, give me like, ten seconds."

"You have five."

Will waits impatiently, trying to not look out of place or attract attention to himself.

“I'm so glad we didn't use these cameras for facial recognition. We’d have been screwed. You know, for a really fancy place, they have the worst security system. An amateur could hack into - “

“Benji, focus.” Will orders, his eyes fixed on the crowd, trying to figure out if any of the guests are missing. His gaze narrows as the gears in his brain pop into place.

“Benji, turquoise dress. The woman in the turquoise, I don’t see her,” Will barks over the comms. “Benji?” Will calls out when he receives no answer from his techie.

A sharp screeching fills the communication devices and Will winces, barely keeps himself from yelling out in pain as the sound assaults his ears. It is then followed by the sound of a muffled thud, some heavy breathing and then silence.

Will waits, his eyes fixed on Jane on the opposite side of the room, wearing a similar expression of worry on her face but still doing her job. Will marvels at her ability to still keep her cover. He’s practically dying with worry.

“Team check in.”

“Jasmine, here.”

Silence.

“Shit,” Will hisses. Croatia flashes before him and he hopes to everything he holds dear that he doesn’t lose his team tonight.

He takes a deep, steadying breath. “Okay, Jasmine, secure our chief guest and get him to the rendezvous point. Call in extraction. We need to get him to safety. I’ll locate Jafar and Abu and meet you there. If I’m not there in fifteen after you get there, leave.”

“I’m not leaving –“

“This is not up for negotiation, Jasmine. I’m not there within the allotted time, you leave. That’s an order.”

Will watches Jane reluctantly give him a curt nod and head off towards Dave.

“Damn it, Benji, I need you,” Will mutters to himself. While he hopes and hopes that Benji is all right, he is also stuck with a dead end. He has no idea where Ethan is and Benji’s vantage point is too hard to reach with the small window of time that he has.

But he doesn’t seem to have any other choice. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he starts walking towards the back exit of the hall; a door labeled ‘Authorised Personnel Only’. He’s set his foot on the first stair when there’s static in his ear.

Heart beating fast, Will halts and presses his earpiece harder into his ear.

“Sorry for the interruption, Aladdin. I was finally putting my fight training to some use.”

Will’s lips split into a wide grin. “Oh man, I never thought I’d be this happy to hear your voice.”

Benji’s chuckles resonate in Will’s ears. He’s just glad his friend is alive at this point. “You okay?” he asks.

“Well, apart from a few cuts, a bloody nose and a kick to the fucking balls, which I never wanted to experience by the way, I’m fine. Now, how about I direct you to Eth – Jafar?”

“Screw the codenames, Benji. Jane’s getting to the rendezvous with our guest. We gotta find Ethan and get there in -” Will checks his watch. “Twelve. We got twelve minutes.”

“Actually, you got ten,” Jane’s voice crackles over the comms. “Extraction team is here. They’re told not to wait more than ten since, according to them, securing and getting Dave out of here is the biggest priority right now."

Will grinds his teeth, anger and guilt coursing through him. If it weren’t for the Intel, Will wouldn’t even give a shit. He clenches his fist.

“For the record, Will, I think we did great. We didn’t screw up. Dave is safe. That was the mission.”

Will smiles in spite of himself, amazed yet again at how his team treats him. More than a fellow agent, he’s treated like family and it’s something he immensely treasures. “Thanks,” he says. “Try and stall them as much as you can just in case.”

“I got you covered. Go find Ethan,” Jane replies.

_Ethan_.

“Shit, uh, okay,” Will steadies himself. Ethan’s been gone for a while and that’s highly unnatural of him. Determined and not accepting the possibility of losing his partner, Will orders “Benji, I need you try and trace Ethans comm, if you haven't already." 

"I have, and it's last position the same spot you're in right now." 

“Is the comm still on?” 

“Nope.” Benji doesn’t elaborate and Will doesn’t need him to. Dead comm either means it was turned off or destroyed. In this case, the latter seemed more likely. 

“Fuck,” Will hisses as he battles with himself. He has two options: climb to the roof and hope Ethan’s there or head downstairs and hope Ethan’s there. If Ethan has somehow made it out of the premises and into the city however, they have no means of tracking him. 

If he were Ethan what would he do? 

Will finally makes a decision as he climbs upwards towards the roof hoping against hope that his hunch is right. “Benji, get to the rendezvous point.” 

“But -“ 

“Benji, that’s an order get to the damn rendezvous point. Don’t wait for us. Ethan and I will handle it and contact you and Jane the minute we can,” Will huffs as he takes the stairs two at a time. 

“Will we’re not leaving you and Ethan behind,” Jane voices, her tone stern. 

“Damn it, Jane, the package is more important right now. We thought it was just one woman and now Benji was attacked too. Who knows how many more there are. If they get to him, we’ll be even more screwed than we are now. Please just do as I say. I’ll find Ethan and contact you the minute I can. These comms won’t work over long range. Once Benji gets to you, don’t waste time get out of here,” Will argues as he pauses just outside the entrance to the roof, his hand on the doorknob. 

“I’m in the chopper,” he hears Benji say. 

“Leave. Now. That’s an order,” Will says firmly. He yanks his comm out of his ear knowing they will be of no use once the chopper picks up distance. He opens the door and runs out scanning his surroundings and freezes halfway. 

Ethan is on one end of the roof, trapped in a chokehold of a guy twice his size and on the other end stands the woman in the turquoise dress, her back to Will holding a rocket launcher (where the fuck did she get a rocket launcher from) aimed at the now receding helicopter that has his best friends and their VIP. 

Will looks back at Ethan, his heart beating fast. He watches desperately as Ethan seems to falter, his hands slack as his eyes begin to drift close from the lack of air entry.

Will makes a frustrated sound as he mentally apologizes to his boyfriend and sprints towards the woman, tackling her to the ground. The rocket fires but misses the chopper by ten feet, blowing the tree next to it into smithereens. 

Not wasting any time he pulls his gun from his waistband as his opponent struggles against him and he slams the butt of his gun onto the woman’s temple, swiftly knocking her out. 

Now on alert, he runs back to Ethan to see his boyfriend lying horribly still on the floor, the attacker now lifting a leg, poised to smash it into Ethan’s face. 

Will sees red. He pulls the trigger sending one shot into the man’s raised knee and the other into the man’s torso. 

The man howls in pain as he staggers away from the unconscious (and hopefully not dead because fuck no Ethan can’t die) agent. He glowers at Will who doesn’t hesitate to send two more shots into the man’s torso effectively silencing him. 

He crashes to the ground, lying still. Will runs over to Ethan, his fingers immediately resting on the latter's neck, checking for a pulse.

“Oh, thank God,” Will shakily whispers in relief as he feels a strong pulse under his fingers. Ethan’s chest is rising and falling at a steady rate. He’s just passed out. 

Will sits down beside his partner, letting himself catch a breath as he finally feels the adrenaline start to fade. Suddenly all he wants to do is find a nice bed and sleep for ten days. 

“Ow,” croaks Ethan, pulling Will out of his thoughts. He groans as he tries to sit up and Will gently helps maneuver him until they’re sitting side by side, backs resting against the wall of the roof. 

“You scared the crap out of me,” Will says after a beat of silence. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“How about next time actually tell your team where you’re headed?” Will suggests, looking inquisitively at Ethan. 

“Yeah I’ll do that,” Ethan snorts. “I am really sorry. That woman looked suspicious, she knew I’d made her and she made a break for the exit and then caught me off guard with that big ass guy that turned up out of nowhere,” Ethan explains as he eyes his attacker with an annoyed look on his face. 

“You hurt?” Will asks, concerned. 

“Nothing major. I just know I’m gonna be sore and limping probably tomorrow,” Ethan says sincerely. That’s all Will needs and Ethan knows it. 

Will nods, finally allowing himself to relax. “Benji and Jane are on route to HQ with Dave.”

“You got a phone?” Ethan asks. Will shakes his head in denial. The event had been strictly no phones for some weird reason that hadn’t made sense to Will but that’s what Dave had wanted and they couldn’t dispute it. 

Ethan gets to his feet and stumbles over to the large (and probably dead, Will thinks) man. A few seconds later he comes back with what looks like a burner phone. 

Will sits back against the roof, eyes closed as Ethan connects to headquarters and narrates their circumstances and outcome of their mission. He then contacts Jane to update her and let her and Benji know they’re okay, after which Ethan heads to the still unconscious woman and drags her towards them until she’s in their line of vision. He pulls out two zip ties from his jacket pocket and binds the woman’s hands and legs. 

Absently, he wonders why Ethan carries zip ties around with him and decides he’s too tired to know. Maybe he’ll ask him sometime. 

Ethan then settles himself back next to Will again. “We gotta wait until a second extraction team gets here. So that could be another fifteen minutes.” 

Will nods his understanding, taking in a deep breath perfectly aware of how shaky it still is. 

“Are _you_ okay?” Ethan asks, and Will can tell Ethan knows already but is giving Will the chance to open up. 

He appreciates it. 

“I thought I lost you,” Will explains. “I thought I got half my team killed because Benji was also attacked. I almost lost my mind because all I could think of was Croatia but Jane and Benji pulled me out of it.” 

Ethan purses his lips. He then lays a hand on Will’s, entangling his fingers within Will’s. 

“I’m sorry Croatia still bothers you. That’s my fault. But please know it was designed to fail. Julia’s cover needed to be rock solid, as well as mine. People had to believe she was dead or else she’d never be safe.

“I wish there’d been another way. I’m sorry I put you through that. It wasn’t fair to you.” 

Will shakes his head. “You did what you had to, to protect someone you cared about. You don’t have to apologize for that. Thank you, though.” 

“This isn’t Croatia, though. You did amazing. You protected Dave and you saved my ass. Speaking of which, how did you track me to the rooftop?” 

Will chuckles. “I know how you work,” he says wryly. “When you disappeared off the grid, and I couldn’t spot the woman, I figured you went after her. I headed for the exit thinking that was the only non-detectable way out and Benji tracked your last known location there too but then your comm must have broken because we couldn’t track you further. 

“I figured the woman would have wanted to make a run for it, but knowing you, you’d have wanted to box her in, either give us time to get to you or give yourself the advantage and fight her one on one rather than run after her. So I figured if you got the chance you’d have improvised enough to make her run towards the roof and not downstairs. Of course, I’m assuming you didn’t expect Gigantor over there to be waiting. I’m also assuming he’s the one who brought the goddamn rocket launcher here.” Will explains, shrugging. 

Will is surprised when Ethan lets out a full laugh before groaning and holding an arm his torso protectively. 

Bruised ribs, Will analyses. 

“You know me too well,” Ethan chuckles. 

Will smiles, resting his head on Ethan’s shoulder. After a few minutes, Ethan’s shoulder starts shaking as he starts to chuckle again. Will looks at him questioningly. 

“Every one picture I clicked of a woman, there’s like five pictures of you, because I couldn’t keep my eyes off you. Don’t worry I only did it when we had spaces of time. It didn’t jeopardize our mission. I’m surprised Benji never said anything. No wonder he was annoyed. I probably sent a hundred photos of you over the four hours we were stuck in that hall. And your constant questioning asking if every picture I clicked was the one didn’t help matters,” Ethan explains as his laughter becomes uncontrollable despite himself holding his bruised torso. 

Will finally lets the tension leave him as he laughs along with Ethan. 

They’re okay. 

Ethan’s okay and laughing. 

So is Benji. Whom he now owes an ice cream and a game night with a game of Benji’s choosing since he tolerated both Will’s and Ethan’s shenanigans the whole night. 

This isn’t Croatia. 

No one died. No one that matters anyway. 

He counts that as a win. 

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are love as always!


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